Sweet Oblivion
by Epeefencer
Summary: AU. Ginny Weasley is betrayed and taken into custody by the secret Muggle government agency MI-X that wants to know about the magical world, something that she has sworn to never let happen. Faced with the unthinkable, she takes her only way out, she uses the one option left to her, erasing her mind. But the thing is, is she really gone. Hermione bashing and mild Molly bashing.


**Sweet Oblivion**

Ginny Weasley lay there thinking about just how she ended up in the situation she found herself in.

The only thing she could think of that made any sense was that she had been betrayed and if that were the case, there was only one person who could have done it.

 _ **She**_ had always been jealous of her relationship with Harry and while _**She**_ never said anything outright, it was clear that _**She**_ wished that _**She**_ was the one that had Harry's affections instead of her.

It was in the looks that she saw when _**She**_ didn't know anyone was looking. Then there were the snide little comments that slipped out now and then.

Things like "I knew him first." or "We were friends long before he even noticed you."

That and many others left no doubt in Ginny's mind who hated her and wanted her out of the way so that **She** could have Harry back all to herself.

Then there was the fact that only three people knew what she was doing and where she would be on that fateful day. Two she trusted her life with, her fiancée Harry Potter and the head of their secret group, Minerva McGonagall. Then there was **Her**.

As soon as she had entered the building Ginny had know it was a trap and that she didn't have a chance to escape. Knowing resistance was futile and prohibited, she had let herself be taken into custody.

She had been whisked away so skilfully that the normal, mundane Muggles never even knew anything was happening.

She had been bundled into a waiting van that had no windows in the back so she had no idea where she had been taken.

The driver had taken a meandering route filled with so many turns and changes of direction that as far as Ginny knew they could have ended up right back where they started from and she wouldn't have had a clue.

When they had opened the doors to the van they were in an underground car park, giving her no idea as to where she was.

She was lead inside to a small interrogation room where a short rather pudgy man was waiting. He had smiled at her and asked her to sit down, always with a smug, irritating smile on his face.

It was a smile that said 'I hold all the cards' and Ginny knew that was true. But he had been nice, too nice, a sickening sweet kind of nice that set Ginny's teeth on edge.

She was searched, well in reality, they had her empty her pockets onto a small tray. The thing they seemed most interested in was her wand. Someone came and took the tray away and then the questioning had begun.

He never shouted, always speaking in a soft monotone with that damn smile on his face and he began to ask her about her role in the Group.

As per her training, all Ginny did was give them her name and ask them to contact Minerva McGonagall.

She had reinforced her Occlumency shields, though they weren't supposed to possess the ability to use Legilimency, there were rumours that they had some type of technology that could preform something similar.

The man had always replied with the same answer to her request, "We're working on that," or some similar reply and then go back to asking her the same questions over and over, always with that smug, sickening smile on his face.

It was obvious they knew about the group Ginny worked for but from their questions they either didn't know much of anything or they were trying to get her to collaborate what they knew. She was never sure which, but she gave them nothing.

The interrogation went on for five days, always the same. The same nice treatment, the same meals three times a day, the same escorting her to a small but comfortable room where she spent the nights locked in with a guard outside her door. They had even returned all her things, except her wand.

She had been extremely grateful because she got her engagement ring back. She had been so worried about that as she had sworn to Harry that she'd never take it off.

It was at night that she thought about her Harry and how mad he'd be. He had been against her joining the Group but other than saying how concerned he was he didn't express his disapproval, even if she knew he was opposed to the idea. She knew he worried about her but knew he couldn't tell her not to be involved.

But she'd wanted to do her part in the War against Voldemort. She had a score to settle with the megalomaniac and Harry understood that.

At first she had thought that she'd be spying against the Death Eaters and the other followers of the Dark Lord but she was surprised when her missions took her into the Muggle world.

It was hoped that they'd be able to find some sort of Muggle technology that the magical world knew nothing about that would help them bring down the Dark Lord and his minions.

That was how _**She**_ had gotten involved, being Muggle born, she knew more than any of the others about how the Muggle world worked and what technologies they were developing.

That brought her back to her current situation.

It was after those first five day that things had changed. Not that they weren't still nice to her but she knew that they had taken the initial interrogation as far as they were going to. She was escorted to a room that had a nameplate on the door, reading SenDep #9.

It didn't mean anything to her then, other than there had to be at least eight others. She figured that had been a good thing or she would have been more afraid of what they were willing to do to get the answers they wanted.

Inside were three females, the first Ginny had seen since being detained. They striped her of all her clothing and attached sensors to various spots on her body.

Then they put her in the 'Tank'. That's when she had learned that SenDep stood for sensory depravation. Something she had come to loath and fear.

The tank appeared to be filled with water but as she approached the tank, it became obvious that the clear liquid wasn't water.

It had a strange smell to it, somewhat medicinal but with other overtones that burned her nose and when they immersed her in it, it produced a metallic tang in her mouth and throat.

The other thing that struck her was it was neither warm nor cold, hardly seeming to be there at all as she floated in its subtly sinister embrace.

It wasn't until they closed the lid, leaving her in total darkness that she found out just how sinister it really was.

She had no sight, she might as well been blind. She couldn't hear anything, she might as well been deaf. She felt no touch, she might as well not had a body any more, even her sense of taste was gone, no longer having the metallic tang in her throat. Along with that her sense of smell was gone, the medicinal odour no longer burned in her nostrils.

In a cruel sense, it was as if she didn't exist any more. No more Ginny Weasley, no more hope of a future with her Harry. No more love, passion, life.

She had in all respects disappeared from all those who loved her and held her dear. She cried at that thought, or at least she supposed she did as she felt no physical manifestation of it.

All she had left was her memories and she immersed herself in them just like they had done to her in the insidious liquid that had stolen everything else from her.

 **Harry and Ginny**

Harry Potter was beyond worried, his fiancée should have been back hours ago. She had never failed to return from a mission on time before, never.

As his concern grew, so did his anger. As his anger grew, so did his resolve to get the answers he had been trying to get for the last six months.

Jumping up from his place on the couch he began to pace back and forth, something he'd been doing off and on for the last five hours.

Totally frustrated he flopped back down on the couch, thinking about what he needed to do. He hadn't been sitting there long when someone sauntered into the room, smiled at him and came over and sat down next to him. Much closer than a person would normally do unless they were involved intimately with the other person.

"Harry, why don't we go get dinner somewhere?" she purred.

"In case you hadn't noticed, Ginny hasn't returned yet," he said, eyeing her darkly.

"Well, since she isn't here and won't be coming, . . . I mean hasn't returned yet, why don't you come with me," she said huskily, running her hand up and down his arm.

Harry jumped up, turned and looked at her, his skin crawling where she had been touching him. As he stared what she had said suddenly sunk in.

"What do you mean, 'Since she won't be coming back'," he growled lowly, his eyes blazing.

"What? I didn't say anything like that," she replied wide-eyed in a panic.

"Yes you did, don't deny it. What do you know?" Harry asked intensely.

"I – I, d-don't know what you mean," she stuttered.

Harry noticed her hand inching toward the pocket in her robes where she kept her wand. In a flash, he drew his wand and soundlessly cast _"Incarcerous."_

"Harry, what are you doing?" she cried, struggling against her bonds.

"Getting answers," Harry snapped, stepping over to the Floo.

Taking a pinch of Floo Powder, he tossed it into the grate, calling out "Minerva McGonagall's quarters."

A moment later he heard, "What can I do for you Harry?"

"I need you to come over immediately and bring some Veritaserum with you," he relied succinctly.

"Is that really necessary?" Minerva asked, her face paling.

"Either bring the serum or I'll do it my way," he replied, his eyes dark with his anger.

Minerva sighed. "I'll be right there," she said sadly. From the look on his face she knew if he did things his way, things wouldn't be pretty and whoever he questioned probably wouldn't survive with their mind intact.

She went to her desk and tapping out a irregular pattern with her wand, she retrieved a small vial of crystal clear liquid, kept on hand in case of emergencies and it appeared there was an emergency or Harry wouldn't have asked.

A few moments later she stepped out of the Floo into the parlour at Headquarters, Number 12 Grimmauld Place, the old Black familial home.

She spotted Harry immediately, standing in front of someone bound up sitting on the couch. From her point of view, she couldn't see who it was.

"Harry, please explain what's going on," she said worriedly.

Harry spun around, his eyes flashing dangerously. "Ginny's missing, more than six hour over due," he snapped.

He took a half step and pointed to the person on the couch. "Then She came waltzing in here and came on to me, wanting me to take her to dinner, saying that Ginny wouldn't be back," he spat angrily.

Minerva's eyes widened as she gasped. "Miss Granger!" she cried in disbelief.

Hermione's eyes fastened on their old Headmistress and Transformation Professor. "I – I don't know what he's talking about," she said imploringly.

Minerva shook her head, trying to deny what she was seeing before her. When Harry had brought his concerns about a traitor in their midst, she hadn't wanted to believe it. Then Harry had laid out what he suspected, the clues he had found.

All were little things, taken individually, they didn't seem significant, but when you added them all together, it did point to someone giving sensitive information out.

What had been really perplexing was that the information hadn't been going to Voldemort and his followers, but to someone else, someone in the Muggle world.

Minerva looked at Harry. "Do you wish to do the honours or should I?" she asked sadly.

Harry waved his hand at Hermione. "You do it. I don't want to touch her," he said in disgust.

The venerable Headmistress approached Hermione, uncorking the small vial. "Please don't resist, Miss Granger. The results of doing so would be . . . unpleasant," she said, glancing in Harry's direction.

Hermione's eyes followed Minerva's glance and she saw how angry Harry was. She as much as anyone knew what he was capable of and she shivered in fear of what he would do to her if she resisted.

With an air of resignation, she slowly opened her mouth, knowing all her plots and manipulations had failed and she wondered what would become of her.

In her hubris, she had never considered the possibility of being caught.

Minerva placed three drops of the potion on Hermione's tongue and glanced at Harry who shook his head.

She added one more and glanced at Harry again.

Harry scowled while contemplating the bushy-haired woman and shook his head once more.

Minerva raised an eyebrow but added a fifth drop and looked at Harry, her eyes showing her concern. Too much Veritaserum could wreck havoc with Hermione's brain.

Harry paused while he considered everything and finally gave Minerva a curt nod.

The older woman gave a sigh and waited until Hermione's eyes had turned glassy.

"Do you know what has happened to Ginny Weasley?" Minerva asked.

"Yes," Hermione replied flatly. She struggled a moment, trying to keep her answer short, but felt compelled to continue. "If my plan succeeded, and I surmise it did because she hasn't returned, she was taken into custody."

"By who?" Minerva asked in shock.

"MI-X," Hermione replied.

Minerva's eyes widened in shock. MI-X was a British Muggle security agency so secret it didn't even have a number.

"Why?" Harry shouted, his anger barely contained.

"I wanted her out of the way so that Harry Potter would fall in love with me instead of her," she replied blandly.

Minerva watched as Harry trembled in rage, barely keeping it together and she could feel the magic swirling around him.

"Have you compromised any other secret information?" Minerva asked, afraid of what the answer would be.

"Yes, but mostly low level missions and data. I did it so that they would trust me when I betrayed Ginny," Hermione answered calmly.

"Shite," Harry cursed softly, shaking his head as he paced back and forth.

"Did anyone else help you?" he asked hotly.

Hermione gave a small smile. "Yes, but he didn't know what he was doing."

"Who was it?" Harry demanded.

"Ron Weasley," she replied immediately.

"Are any ongoing operations in danger?" Minerva asked, gathering herself together.

"Yes, several," Hermione replied.

Harry summoned a piece of parchment and quill. "Write down everything you've given away," he said in disgust, releasing Hermione from her bonds.

Hermione picked up the quill and began to write as calmly as if she were making a shopping list, humming happily as if she didn't have a care in the world.

Minerva winced when the bushy-haired woman filled a good three quarters of the parchment before she stopped.

Harry snatched the parchment from in front of their betrayer and scanned it quickly. Shaking his head, he handed it to Minerva before he started to pace again.

The venerable Headmistress paled as she read the list. Once she was done, her arms fell to her side and she looked at Harry sadly. "I'll have to notify people right away. Hopefully we can contain the damage before it's too late," she said quietly, her face showing just how distressed she was.

She hesitated, glancing at Hermione. "What are we going to do with Miss Granger?" she asked apprehensively.

"I'll take care of it," Harry replied darkly.

Minerva stared at him for a moment before nodding sadly. "I'll get in touch with some of our contacts to see if I can find out what happened to Miss Weasley," she said softly, though from the sound of her voice, Harry didn't hold out much hope.

"See what you can find out," he said, giving her a look of such anguish, it broke the older woman's heart.

Minerva gave him a wan smile before she stepped over to the Floo and flashed away.

As soon as she was gone, Harry rebound Hermione, wanting her to recover before he told her what he was going to do to her.

It took ten minutes before the Veritaserum wore off. Hermione blinked several times and looked around in confusion. She tried to move and discovered she was still bound, sitting on the couch.

"Where's Professor McGonagall?" she asked hesitantly.

"Gone to see if she can salvage anything from your betrayal," Harry replied coldly.

Hermione stared at him, more afraid by his coldness than if he had been angry. "A-are you going to k-kill me?" she asked, completely terrified.

"Death is too good for you," Harry replied, his eyes burning with his hatred.

"B-but I L-love you," she whimpered.

"You don't know the meaning of the word," Harry snapped.

"So what are you going to do?" she asked shakily.

Harry's eyes gleamed menacingly. "I'm going to bind your magic and then bury your mind so deep no one will know that you're in there. To the outside world you'll look and act like a vegetable but you'll be aware of everything that goes on around you, never to take part in the world again. It will be as if Hermione Granger has disappeared," he whispered maliciously.

Hermione's eyes widened in terror and she struggled vainly against her bonds. "No, please," she begged.

Harry just smiled evilly at her and raised his wand, murmuring a spell Hermione couldn't hear. She felt a pressure deep inside her body as her magic was bound and then it was as if someone was wrapping her brain in some sort of insulating material.

She realized she couldn't move and she tried to scream but nothing came out as her mouth refused to respond, her mind screaming "I'm sorry" but no one could hear, least of all Harry, who just looked at her with hatred in his eyes.

Her vision swirled as Harry levitated her and she realized she couldn't even move her eyes. She felt nauseous but her stomach couldn't contract to expel its contents.

Lights flashed in her eyes before she felt the blackness of Apparation. When her head quit spinning she felt herself dumped unceremoniously on the ground.

All she could see was the dark night sky above her and what looked like buildings on the edge of her vision but she couldn't make out what they were and she was unable to move her head.

It seemed like she laid there for hours before someone stumbled over her. Whoever it was stank of Firewhisky and they cursed lowly.

Nearby she heard coarse laughter. "Hey mate, you've had too much to drink. You can't even walk without falling down," a man's voice said.

"Shut ya gob," the one who fell over her snapped back. "I tripped over some sumthin."

More laughter rang out from several individuals. "Git your arse off the ground, Johnny Boy so we can be goin," someone laughed.

The man named Johnny stood and drew his wand. "Lumos," he muttered, lighting his wand.

"Shite," he cursed, looking down at Hermione. "We better summon the Aurors, it looks like someone has been attacked by a Dementor," he said fearfully, glancing around in a near panic.

Hermione heard the low murmur of worried voices, too low for her to understand.

"Here now, why don't you and Larry stay with the body while we go and fetch the Aurors," someone said.

Hermione tired to cry out but couldn't move and she wished she could at least cry but she just laid there unresponsive, unable to give any indication that she was aware.

"If I'da known that, I'd 'ave had a go with 'er," she heard a man mutter drunkenly, followed by the laughter of his friends.

"Yeah, she ain't half bad lookin," another man said.

"She got a great set of tits," added another. "Wonder what kind o' knickers she's wear'n, if she wears any at all," he laughed.

Hermione shuddered in her mind, repulsed by their crude talk, though all she could do was lay there and listen.

Time seemed to drag by but finally several people came into view. An Auror and what appeared to be a Healer. The Healer bent over her and waved his wand, casting several diagnostic spells.

Hermione saw him shake his head. "Another one for the long term care ward," he said flatly, as if he didn't care.

She was placed on a stretcher, none too carefully, as if she were just a slab of meat. Inside she was screaming but no one paid any attention to her as she was just another victim of Voldemort's reign of terror.

Hermione thought she must have blacked out as the next thing she knew she was at St. Mungo's, being placed in a bed. Her mind cried out as a Medi-Wizard carelessly stripped her before he dressed her in a hospital gown.

An Auror appeared in the corner of her vision. "Any ID?" he asked.

The Medi-Wizard shook his head, "No, nothing," he replied as he covered her with a thin blanket.

She saw the Auror stare at her for a moment before he shrugged. "Let's hope someone reports her missing, or we might never know who she is," he said before disappearing from view.

She lay there in terror, knowing Harry had been right, death would have been preferable to the fate that awaited her.

 **Harry and Ginny**

Ginny lay in the nothingness that had been her world for longer than she could remember. Since being placed in the 'Tank' she's had no contact with the outside world.

Without any outside stimuli, she had turned her mind inward, going over her memories as it was all she had.

The problem was that after a while, they began to deteriorate like an over played Victrola record, becoming scratchy and worn around the edges.

The other problem she found was that she was having a much harder time distinguishing between her imagination and dreams from reality.

That saddened her more than anything else because her reality with Harry had been so wonderful. She felt her heart begin to race with the emotion that her melancholy brought but then she felt the damn machine inject her with a mild sedative to return her heartbeat to a steady level.

It was then that she knew she had lost. Lost her fight with those who had captured her. Lost her fight to retain her sanity and worst of all lost all hope of ever seeing Harry again.

She knew that as soon as they removed her from the "Tank" she would begin talking and eventually spill everything that she knew. She wouldn't mean to, but she knew she'd talk just so they wouldn't put her back into this nothingness.

She knew there was only one way out to save her honour and integrity. With that realization, she actually felt tears come and before the machine could dampen them again, she did what she knew she had to do.

She gathered her magic, what was left of it and began the incantation that would forever erase that which made her who she was. It wasn't like Obliviating oneself. You needed a wand to Obliviate anyone even yourself.

No, the spell she was using was much more encompassing than simple Obliviation, it wiped the mind completely. She had shuddered when she had been taught it, hoping that she'd never be called upon to use it. Now it was her only way out.

As she finished the words, she felt her mind begin to unravel, and she cried at the thought she'd never see her Harry again, Never feel his strong arms wrapped around her, or his kisses that made her world spin. Never have the life they planned, no marriage, no children, no more Ginny at all.

Faster and faster her memory went, leaving scattered bits of her life like so many scraps blowing in the wind.

She grabbed on to the memory of Harry proposing and she felt her heart breaking, more worried about how Harry would take her loss than the end of herself.

Things began to slow, until one by one the last of her memories drifted away, her last thought was, "I love you Harry."

 **Harry and Ginny**

Randolph "Randy" Wigglesworth entered the control room to start his next shift, grabbing the log book. "Anything to report?" he asked as he scanned the latest entries.

"Not a bloody thing," replied his daytime counterpart.

"Shite, number nine is still here?" he asked in surprise. He'd been off for a week and was just returning to work.

"Yeah, whoever it is, they're a tough one. I've never known someone to last so long," the day coverage man said. "I think this one is a record, I've never heard of someone lasting five weeks."

"And there's been no change in the readings?" Randy asked incredulously.

"None," came the reply as the other man rose, glad his relief was here so he could go home to his wife and kids.

Randy grabbed a cup of tea and sat down at the console, making a few notations in the log. "Say hi to Martha," he said with a smile.

"Will do," came the reply.

"See ya tomorrow, Bob," Randy said, turning his attention to the readouts.

"Later," Bob replied heading out through the door.

Randy scanned all the other readings before looking back at the ones for number nine.

"Five weeks," he muttered to himself. "They'll end up with a blithering idiot if they're not careful," he said with a shake of his head. Not that it would be his problem, that was for the guys higher up the chain to worry about.

With a sigh, he pulled out his laptop and powered it up. Sitting and watching a bunch of dials and recording rolls at night was an extremely boring proposition, not that it was any more exciting during the day. At least at night there weren't any supervisors breathing down your neck.

With a smile he logged on and brought up his favourite porn site. He found it a kick that he could get paid while getting himself off.

It was a couple of hours later when he logged off, stretching his shoulders out after cleaning himself off. Rolling his neck, he glanced at the console, blinking tiredly.

He was just about to grab another cup of tea when he realized something seemed to be off and he shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs from his brain.

He frowned as he scanned the readings and it took a moment for it to register that something was wrong. His eyes widened in shock as he stared at the readings for number nine.

Where it should have been recording the irregularities of the brains activity, there was just an even sine wave indicating that there was only minimal activity taking place.

"Shite," he cried through gritted teeth. Nothing like this had ever happened before as far as he knew. In fact it was supposed to be impossible.

He began to unroll the paper that traced number nine's brain activity to see how long it had been since they'd had normal brain waves.

"Fuck," he cried, not able to find when it had started.

Shaking his head, he picked up the phone, dialling the number he never wanted to call.

The phone rang once and a gruff voice answer with a simple "What?"

"I need an emergency extraction team, stat," Randy said, hoping he didn't sound in a panic.

Without an answer the phone went dead, right before an alarm began sounding, never a good thing.

Randy slumped down in his chair, hoping he still had a job in the morning.

 **Harry and Ginny**

It had been just over six weeks from when Ginny had disappeared. There had been no word of her whereabouts from any of Minerva's contacts and Harry was inconsolable.

He vacillated between rage and despair and Minerva was extremely worried about him. She was sure he was either going to explode and do something rash or give up completely. Neither option would turn out well.

She had just about given up hope when a message had arrived. It seemed someone in the Muggle government had contacted one of her 'friends' saying they had a young woman in custody that had had some kind of incident that was beyond their ability to deal with and if they wanted they could come and collect her.

So it was that Minerva, Andromeda Tonks, Hestia Jones, Emmeline Vance, Mad-Eye Moody, Sturgis Podmore, Filius Flitwick, Augusta Longbottom and Harry Potter met at Grimmauld Place to discuss retrieving Ginny.

Andromeda looked at Harry with concern. "I know he's involved but I'm not sure he should go," she said to Minerva.

Harry glared at her, silently saying with his eyes, "Just try and stop me."

"I understand your concerns Andromeda but Harry knows Ginny the best of all of us. If we have any chance of performing the ritual, he's the best one to be involved," Minerva replied, no less worried about how Harry would react than Andromeda.

"How many do you need to perform the ritual," growled Mad-Eye.

"Four," Andromeda replied.

"Than you need a minimum of six people," the grizzled old Auror snapped, his magical eye spinning wildly.

"Will six be enough?" Filius asked, glancing around at everyone.

"Are we sure it isn't a trap?" Emmeline asked worriedly, her eyes darting around, seeking some sort of reassurance.

"Of course it's a trap," Mad-Eye snapped. "Otherwise we'd never heard from them about recovering Miss Weasley."

"Are we sure she . . ." Hestia asked, her eyes misting sorrowfully.

"I'm certain of it," Minerva answered sadly. "She knew the risk and the spell as do all of our operatives," she added, glancing at Harry who looked like he wanted to kill someone.

She knew that not only was he angry but he was feeling guilty for not insisting that Ginny stay out of the war, or at least being an operative in the Muggle World. A dangerous combination and while she had her doubts about including him, she knew they'd have to stun him to keep him from going.

"Okay, six is all I think we should risk," Minerva finally said.

Several of the others nodded their heads and a discussion began about who should be included.

"Andromeda has to go, she's the one that knows the ritual to restore a replacement personality enough to lead the others," Minerva said firmly.

"Okay, that's agreed on," Mad-Eye growled. "Who else?"

"Since I'm the one who is responsible for sending her, I should go too," Minerva said sadly, her eyes showing her regret for what had happened.

"It's not your fault," Augusta said firmly. "If that damn woman hadn't betrayed us we wouldn't be here." Then with a firm nod of her head she said "I'll go along too."

Minerva winced, seeing Harry's scowl at the mention of Hermione, even if not by name, and her betrayal.

"All right, that's Andromeda, Harry, Augusta and me so far," Minerva said, glancing around. "Who else should we take?"

"Mad-Eye," Harry said succinctly.

Several members raised their eyebrows as they looked at either Harry or Mad-Eye.

"We'll need him to keep watch while we preform the ritual," Harry said eyeing everyone with a hard uncompromising look.

"Okay," Minerva said.

"Why aren't any of the Weasleys here?" Emmeline asked hesitantly.

Harry bit his tongue, not wanting to seem to bad mouth his future in-laws, hoping someone else would speak up.

"Can you really see Molly going on this little excursion?" Mad-Eye growled with a frown.

"Well, I guess not but what about Arthur or one of the children?" Emmeline asked, looking around questioningly.

"While I love Arthur he would be a liability. Can you see him not reacting badly at seeing . . . Ginny," Harry replied, his voice breaking as he tried valiantly to keep from breaking down completely as he said his fiancée's name. .

"I guess not," Emmeline replied sympathetically, her heart aching at the sound of the anguish in Harry's voice.

Sturgis heard the pain in Harry's voice and he felt bad for the young man. "I'll go," he said softly, his eyes meeting Harry's. He gave him a small nod, letting him know that he'd do whatever it took to bring his love back, even if she wasn't really going to be herself.

Minerva nodded, "Okay, that's our six," she said softly.

Everyone met back at Grimmauld Place early the next morning, the others there to give their support to the six who were going to bring Ginny home.

Minerva checked everyone over, making sure they were appropriately dressed for their sojourn into the Muggle world.

Everyone looked fine until she got to Harry. He was wearing a pair of black cargo pants, a rather tight dark grey t-shirt, a black leather jacket and black combat boots.

"Harry," she sighed. "You look much to aggressive. We don't want to provoke a confrontation," she said diplomatically.

Harry scowled at her and left the kitchen. He returned a few minutes later, wearing a light jumper of a deep green, obviously thrown over his t-shirt.

Minerva sighed, knowing that was as good as it was going to get. "Okay, let's get going. We have a long way to go."

"Is that why we're here at this ungodly hour?" Sturgis asked with a yawn.

"Yes, we need to be at the Liverpool Street Station for the 6 o'clock train to Wickham Market, though we'll have to change trains in Ipswich," Minerva explained with a sigh.

"You mean we're not heading to Whitehall?" Moody asked with a frown.

"No, our ultimate destination is Rendlesham," Minerva replied.

"Bentwaters," Harry spat angrily.

Moody growled angrily while a couple of others gasped, though several had no idea what they were talking about.

"What's that?" Emmeline asked glancing around at the others, not understanding their reactions.

Moody glanced at Harry and decided it would probably be best if he answered the question.

"It's an old RAF base that the Muggle government uses. All very hush-hush and don't ask any questions, if you get my meaning," the grizzled ex-Auror said darkly.

"Just the place that MI-X would use," Harry snapped, his look even darker than Moody's.

Minerva glanced worriedly at Harry and wondered if taking him along wasn't a mistake. She knew he was the best one to rebuild what they could of Ginny's mind but she wondered if it was worth the risk.

Right now it seemed that anything could set him off and she really didn't want to get into a pitched battle with an unknown number of members of a secret Muggle organisation, especially on their turf.

"We're wasting time," Harry growled, heading for the door.

Minerva sighed as she followed, hoping that Harry would calm down on their train ride. If not things could get dicey and she really wanted to bring Ginny back home where she could be cared for by those who loved her, even if she wouldn't be Ginny any more.

It had been decided to walk to the Liverpool Street Station as it wasn't too long of a walk from Grimmauld place. They could have flooed to King's Cross but that would have added an extra transfer to the train ride, further delaying them as unfortunately Liverpool Street Station didn't have a secure Apparation point like King's Cross did.

Minerva kept a close eye on Harry as they walked and she was glad that he seemed to have calmed down, at least a little.

She was startled out of her observations by Mad-Eye stomping up next to her, moving surprisingly well for a man with a wooden leg.

"Just how are we getting from Wickham Market to Bentwaters?" he ask, trying to keep his gravelly voice soft.

"Rendlesham," she corrected him, though secretly she was sure Harry was right and the thought scared her. There were all sorts of rumours about Bentwaters and she shuddered to think what Ginny might have been exposed to to cause her to wipe her mind.

"Whatever," Moody growled, giving Minerva a frown.

"We were told that someone would meet us and transport us to where we would find Miss Weasley," the venerable older woman said softly.

Moody grumbled unintelligibly while shaking his head. Though Minerva didn't understand what he said, she knew he wasn't happy about that fact.

Mad-Eye walked along beside Minerva. He knew she knew that he wasn't pleased with their transportation arrangements. They were putting themselves at the mercy of those who had shown themselves to be their enemies or at least not their allies.

Nothing else explained why Ginny would have wiped her mind to protect their secrets.

Every fibre of his being was screaming at him that it was a trap and they probably should have left the Weasley girl to her fate, but he glanced at Harry walking in front of him and saw how much he was hurting and knowing that he was the one who needed to defeat Voldemort, he had vowed to do whatever he could to help the boy, no, the young man to succeed, even if it meant walking into the jaws of Hell itself.

Somehow he couldn't put the idea out of his mind that's what they just might be doing.

Moody moved up to walk next to Andromeda, trying to keep pace with Harry and Sturgis who were getting ahead of the others.

Augusta Longbottom took his place next to Minerva. "Mr Potter seems to be setting a rather blistering pace," she observed. "Not that I don't blame him."

Minerva sighed and glanced at the dowager. "Yes, I'm certain that he is eager to get to Miss Weasley and hopefully he'll burn off some of his anger," she replied.

Augusta gave Minerva a hard look. "Not all of it I hope. Sometimes a bit of righteous anger is what's needed in difficult situations," she stated firmly.

"True, but I pray it won't be necessary," Minerva replied worriedly.

By the time the two elderly women arrived at the station, Harry had already purchased their tickets and was pacing impatiently.

Then they made their way to the proper platform and they only had to wait a few minutes before their train arrived.

The trip to Ipswich where they needed to change trains was completed quickly but during their twenty-five minute wait for the train to Wickham Market, Harry paced like a caged animal.

Finally their train arrived and Minerva was happy to see Harry acting calmer as they headed for their destination.

When they arrived at Wickham Market, the place was jammed with commuters heading off to work so it took a little while to find their transportation.

Finally they spotted a short, balding man wearing a seedy tweed suit scanning the crowd and he gave them a thin smile when he saw them.

He waved them over, his face holding no warmth. "Hello, I'm Dr. Smith. If you'll follow me, we'll get going," he said plainly.

Moody growled lowly, not liking the fact that the man seemed to know who they were without even asking. Something that he thought didn't bode well.

He and Harry shared a glance, neither one believing him when he said his name was Dr. Smith.

He led them to a nondescript white passenger van and once everyone was seated he drove away from the station.

The journey was done in complete silence, their driver seeming to ignore them and no one else seemed to desire to speak.

Minerva sighed sadly as they drove through Rendlesham and she knew that Harry had been correct when he had said their destination would be Bentwaters.

They finally arrived at the supposedly deactivated RAF base and passed through several increasingly tight security check points. While the person who approached the vehicle only wore a side-arm, there were others hanging nearby watching the proceedings intensely that had automatic weapons.

Once they cleared the final check point their driver took them on a meandering circuit through rows upon rows of buildings. Most were in severe disrepair from lack of use.

When Harry noticed the same buildings that he had seen at least twice before, he glanced at Moody, who gave him a curt nod. They were purposely being driven around in circles to make it virtually impossible to find their way out unescorted.

Dr Smith finally pulled up in front of a low concrete building, hardly looking in better repair than many of the abandoned ones they had passed.

With a simple, "Were here," he led them inside.

Once there, he gave them that same thin smile, saying, "Someone will be with you shortly," before he left back outside.

With his departure, the small group took a look around. They were in a small lobby and while it looked much better maintained than the exterior, there was a sense of age to the furnishings and decor.

At the far end there was a young woman, wearing the same nondescript uniform that the guards at the check points had been wearing.

Harry found it slightly amusing as the woman pointed ignored them.

Besides the entrance they had arrived through, there was only one other egress. A stark corridor that was situated behind where the woman receptionist, for the lack of a better term, sat.

Other than that, there was barely anything else in the room except for some exceedingly uncomfortable looking plastic chairs. No artwork on the walls, no potted plants, real or artificial, not even any out of date magazines to thumb through while waiting.

It was a stark, depressing place and Harry hated to think about Ginny being held there.

Fortunately they didn't have long to wait before they heard the sharp clack of footsteps coming their way from down the corridor.

A few moments later a young woman appeared. Her light brown hair was pulled up tightly into a bun and she was wearing glasses with thick black frames along with a white lab coat and black trousers.

Without any sort of introduction she said succinctly, "This way, please." Then without waiting to see if they were following, she turned and headed back down the corridor.

The small group scrambled to follow but fortunately the woman wasn't walking fast and they were able to catch up quickly.

Harry noticed that right to the left as they entered the corridor, there was a room with the door open where several guards were stationed. Though they seemed rather casual, they took notice of the group going past, eyeing them intensely.

A short way further the corridor ended at a T intersection and their guide turned to the left.

As they followed, Harry glanced back the other way and saw that to the right mirrored the corridor they were heading down.

They passed several rooms on both the left and right along with several other corridors before their guide took a corridor to the right.

They passed more room and corridors, as their guide led them deep within the building, taking many turns in the warren of corridors and rooms.

They had been walking for close to ten minutes before the woman stopped, knocked on a door and then without waiting for any type of reply, opened it and ushered them inside.

Sitting behind a desk there was a middle-aged, nondescript man, who while wearing a lab coat like their guide, his look and demeanour scream bureaucrat.

He gave a small smile. "Thank you, Miss Jones," he said in dismissal and their guide left, closing the door behind her.

He made a motion at the two chairs in front of his desk and Minerva and Augusta sat down.

He looked back and forth between the two women. "Minerva McGonagall?" he queried.

"I'm Minerva McGonagall," Minerva replied with a curt nod.

"We've had a devil of a time tracking you down," the man said with a saccharine smile.

Harry was eyeing the man intensely, using passive Legilimency and he could tell the man was lying.

"Excuse me for not introducing myself, my name is Peters," he said in feigned embarrassment.

Harry fought not to frown, knowing that he was lying again.

"While I'm sure you're eager to see Miss Weasley, there is some paperwork to be completed before that can happen," he said, pulling a file from one of the desk drawers.

He slid a pen across to Minerva before glancing at the first sheet of paper in the file.

"This is a release for relinquishing Miss Weasley into your custody," he said, sliding it across for Minerva to sign.

She scanned it quickly, making sure is said what Peters claimed it did. Once satisfied, she signed her name and slid it back across the desk.

Peters glanced at it quickly before sliding the next form across the desk. "This is a listing of the care Miss Weasley received while in our care," he said evenly.

Harry bristled at his use of the term 'in our care', refusing to admit she had been taken into custody.

Andromeda laid a calming hand on Harry's arm and gave it a soft squeeze. Harry glanced at her and could tell she had similar thoughts about the term Peters had used.

Harry realized he must have made some kind of noise because Peters suddenly looked up at him.

Unable to stop himself, knowing the risk he was taking, Harry took the opportunity to probe the man's mind. What he found set his blood boiling. He saw the term SenDep and what it all entailed.

Worse was when he found out Ginny had been sensory deprived for five weeks, something even Peters found astounding. It was only then that Ginny had wiped her mind.

Andromeda felt Harry tense and she noticed him staring at Peters and she knew instinctively what he was doing. She felt him start to tremble and she realized it was with rage.

"Harry," she called softly.

That's all it took as Harry glanced at her, breaking eye contact.

Peters gave a little shake of his head and resumed passing forms to Minerva to sign.

The next one was to absolve the government of all culpability to what happened to Ginny while in their care.

Minerva hesitated for a moment but then she realized if she didn't sign it they probably wouldn't be able to take Ginny with them, if they were allowed to leave at all.

With a sigh, she signed her name and passed it back.

Several more forms were passed to be signed, one stating that someone would be responsible for any expenses incurred by Ginny that weren't covered by the National Health Service.

Minerva glanced at Harry, who gave her a curt nod, indicating that he would pay anything required.

Finally, Peters slid the last form over. "This one is to sign for Miss Weasley's personal effects," he said. After sliding it to Minerva he turned and opened a small cabinet and drew out a small tray.

On it were the few things Ginny had on her person when taken into custody. Her wand, a pair of small gold hoop earrings, a thin gold necklace with a small gold Doe and a couple of Pound notes.

Harry stared at the tray. "Where's her ring?" he demanded harshly.

Peters looked up in genuine surprise. "Ring?" he asked bewilderedly.

"Her engagement ring," Harry snarled.

"I – I d-don't know," Peters stammered.

When Harry's looked darkened, the visibly shaken man said "L-let me make a call and see what I can find out," he asked or in reality pleaded.

Harry gave a curt nod, never taking his burning eyes off the man.

Peters quickly picked up his phone and made a call. There was a brief exchange before he hung up with a small smile.

"Before Miss Weasley fell into her coma, she asked if she couldn't have it back and she was given it. She's wearing it now," he said in obvious relief.

Harry gave him a curt nod, though his look didn't change much and Peters gulped, realizing that even though security was close by that he could be dead ten times over before they arrived.

He gave them a thin smile and tucked the last papers into the folder and closed it. "Well now that all the official things are taken care of, lets get you to Miss Weasley so you can be on your way," he said in a tone that said he'd be glad when they were gone.

He picked up the phone, dialled a number and after a moment said "They're ready," and hung up.

A couple of moments later there was a knock on the door and their previous guide opened it and waited.

"Thank you for all your help," Minerva said as she and Augusta rose, though you could tell she was really loathed to say it.

"It was my . . . pleasure," Peters replied, hesitating as if looking for a different word but not finding one. He gave them a thin smile as they filed out.

As soon as the door closed, he slumped back in his seat, hoping he never saw the angry young man again, knowing if he did, things probably wouldn't go well.

Miss Jones led them back the way they had come in but turned off about half way back to the entrance. They took a few twists and turns before she led them to a room and without knocking, she opened the door and led them inside.

Harry's breath caught in his throat and his eyes began to tear up, never noticing their guide speaking to the woman attendant, he only had eyes for Ginny.

She was laying on a stark stainless steel table, dressed in her Muggle clothes. Though her eyes were closed, there was something about her face that struck Harry deeply.

Her features were softened, looking very child-like and he knew that while it was Ginny's body laying there, it wasn't really her any more.

Minerva noticed Harry standing transfixed right inside the door, breathing raggedly with his eyes glistening and she stepped over to him.

Harry felt a soft touch on his arm and her turned to see who was there.

"Harry?" Minerva asked quietly.

Harry blinked rapidly, sending a couple of tears trailing down his cheeks. He gave her a sad thin smile and nodded his head, letting her know that he'd do what he needed to do. He then quickly brushed his tears from his cheeks, feeling slightly embarrassed for letting them fall.

Minerva felt her heart breaking for him. He had suffered so much already and she wondered if this might be the straw that finally broke him.

Harry finally step forward and up to Ginny's side. He gave a wan smile, seeing Ginny wearing his engagement ring. With supreme effort he kept the tears from falling but it was a near thing.

Seeing that everyone was occupied, he took her hand in his and gave it a soft squeeze but while her hand was warm in his, there was no response.

Silently, Harry promised, " _I love you Ginny and will never give up on you or us."_

He gently set her hand down and turned to where their guide and Ginny's attendant were having a discussion with Minerva and Andromeda.

The attendant showed them a old military type stretcher in the corner and with her help they got Ginny settled on it.

The older woman, looking to be in her fifties, gently tucked a blanket around Ginny, looking at her sadly.

"I do hope she recovers, she's such a beautiful young woman," she said emotionally.

Harry could tell her emotions were genuine and he appreciated what she had done for his Ginny, even if he hated those who put her in the situation.

Harry took the end by her feet so he could look at her while Sturgis took the end by her head.

"Are you sure you don't want me to summon you some help," the attendant asked, wondering how the two men were going to handle the stretcher by themselves. The other members of the group obviously looking like they wouldn't be able to give any assistance.

Harry let a little magic flow through his hands into the stretcher, lightening it considerably.

"We'll be fine," he replied as he and Sturgis lifted the stretcher and followed their guide back out into the corridor.

She led them off in the other direction and after a much shorter journey they ended up back in the lobby.

Dr Smith was waiting and led them back out to the van. The seating had been rearranged so that they had no problem getting the stretcher inside, with Harry taking the seat nearest Ginny.

The ride back to Wickham Market was as silent as the ride to Bentwaters, no one speaking at all.

Moody did look at Harry at one point after glancing behind them, his look informing Harry that they were being followed.

Harry nodded, having expected as much. Not that he cared, he'd let nothing stand in their way of getting Ginny back to safety.

Dr Smith pulled up right at the station and let them out. "Right, good luck," he said before getting back in the van and driving off.

Fortunately they were able to board the train almost immediately and find their compartment. Both Harry and Moody noticed several people paying close attention to them while trying hard to appear not to be.

"Can some one explain to me why we couldn't just Apparate back?" Moody growled lowly.

"First off, we certainly don't want to give away our abilities," Minerva patiently explained.

"Besides, you can't Apparate someone who has wiped their mind," Andromeda added sadly. "We're not quite sure why but all recorded attempts have the person splinching badly, usually ending with their death."

Moody shook his head in resignation. "Well that's certainly going to make losing our tag-a-longs a bit more difficult," he muttered sourly.

Minerva glanced around and received a nod from Andromeda. "Moody, if you will, a few privacy wards if you please." she said softly. "The sooner we perform the ritual, the sooner we can get out of here."

Moody nodded, drawing his wand and making sure no Muggles were paying close attention, he began casting the wards.

There was enough room to lay Ginny flat on the floor. Harry knelt by her head and placed it in his lap. Andromeda knelt by her feet, to her left was Minerva and to the right was Augusta, something that surprised Harry as he hadn't though the dowager could kneel down so deftly.

"All right, once we start we can't stop until we've rebuilt enough of a personality for her to function on her own. The longer we can sustain the ritual, the older the personality will be. Hopefully we'll be able to get her to at least an older child, perhaps as old as eight or nine," Andromeda explained to everyone.

She then looked at Harry. "You're the key, Harry. You know her the best of all of us here. Our job it to give you the strength and magic to do what needs to be done as fast as possible," she said softly, her eyes looking into Harry's tortured emerald ones.

She saw his pain and doubt and her heart went out to him, knowing that what he was doing wasn't easy for him. Hell, it wasn't easy for any of them but then again they hadn't had the intimate relationship that he had shared with Ginny.

"You can do this," she said softly.

Harry nodded as he took several deep breaths to calm himself. He owed it to Ginny to do the best he could. He'd let his love for her lead him, it was the least he could do for the woman who meant to world to him.

Andromeda started the chant, with Minerva and Augusta joining in. Harry closed his eyes and let the ancient words flow over and through him, taking him where he needed to go.

Slowly the sounds of their chanting faded from hearing and after a brief momentary blindness he found himself standing in a small room. Its walls were lined with shelves like a library.

The main difference was that there weren't any books on the shelves. Instead laying all around him was all sorts of debris, that at closer look he found were scraps of pages and parchments. Nothing came close to looking like a complete page. It was as if someone had shredded every book and scroll that had filled the room.

Harry felt tears running down his cheeks, knowing this was what remained of Ginny's personality and memories.

He sighed as he felt despair overwhelming him. He realized he could spend years, decades, a lifetime, trying to put her memories back together.

Then and there, he vowed he would do it, no matter how long it took, no matter what anyone else thought. He would do the impossible if at all possible, to bring his Ginny back to him.

Though Andromeda had cautioned him that time would pass differently where he'd end up, he knew it was passing so he reached down and grabbed a handful of scraps and began to sort through them.

Moody glanced at the three women and frowned. They had perhaps at the most a half hour before they arrived in Ipswich to change trains and they were looking rather wan as it was.

Andromeda looked worst of all, but then again she was the one focusing and transferring everything to Harry.

Thinking of him, the old ex-Auror shifted his gaze to the young man. He had been worried when at the beginning several tears had run down his cheeks but it had passed and now he had a determined look of concentration on his face.

Moody shook his head. "You're a stronger man than I am," he whispered lowly, doubting that he would have had the nerve to attempt what Harry was doing, entering the mind of the love of your life, knowing you were going to find it destroyed.

Harry paused and wiped his brow, feeling exhausted but as he looked around, he was astounded by the progress he'd made.

Somehow by closing his eyes and just reaching out, his hand seemed to be led to the right pieces he needed and he'd been able to reconstruct many pages of memories.

Most had been from when Ginny was a child but there were a few where he had appeared prominently. In some respects he felt like a voyeur, reading bits of things they had done from Ginny's perspective. Some made him blush deeply.

As tempting as it was to read further, he had pushed that from his mind, knowing he needed to keep working.

He worked diligently for what seemed a second eternity and was just placing a fourth small book back on the shelves when he felt his vision starting to fade.

He sighed in frustration, though he had accomplished more than he had hoped, he knew he had barely scratched the surface. Yes he'd been able to reconstruct four small books but they mostly had to do with general learning, thinks like talking, walking, using the loo and feeding herself as opposed to real memories that made her into who she really was.

Harry groaned and had to catch himself to keep from collapsing onto Ginny. As he opened his eyes he saw Andromeda, Minerva and Augusta sag with fatigue.

Sturgis quickly passed out the four vials of potions that he had ready. Each participant of the ritual gulped them down, ignoring the bitter taste.

He smiled at them as he saw colour return to their ashen cheeks.

Andromeda gave Harry a questioning look. He gave her a small shrug. "I did the best I could," he answered softly, silently hoping it had been enough.

"Should we wake her?" Moody asked, staring down at Ginny's still form.

"No, we need to let her wake naturally," Andromeda replied tiredly.

Moody scowled but didn't comment further. He wasn't in charge so he'd leave things like that to those who were.

The three women slowly rose and took seats while Harry remained where he was, softly caressing Ginny's cheeks, her head remaining in his lap.

It was about five minutes later when Ginny sighed and leaned into Harry's hand, a small smile forming on her lips.

Andromeda smiled softly, "That's a good sign," she whispered.

A couple of minutes later, Ginny's eyes fluttered open. For a moment she had a slightly panicked look on her face but then she stared up at Harry and relaxed.

She smiled shyly before looking around in confusion.

"Do you feel like you can sit up?" Harry asked softly.

Ginny's eyes snapped back to his and she gave a small nod.

Harry helped her up and into a seat. She blushed lightly, and gave him a small smile. She kept looking at him, her head cocking to the side. "Do I know you?" she asked shyly.

Harry sighed, how did he answer that question without telling her everything and they certainly didn't have time for that at the moment.

Involuntarily, his eyes dropped and fastened on the ring she was wearing.

Ginny's eyes followed where his were looking and her eyes widened in shock. She felt so bewildered and confused and she could tell something was wrong with her memory, though she had no idea what.

There was something about the sad young man who was staring at her hand, or in reality the ring she was wearing. It was obviously an engagement ring, so did that mean they were engaged? If that were the case why couldn't she seem to remember anything about him?

And if she was going to go there, why did it seem like her memory was shot through with holes and not just little holes. They were huge holes, holes where things obviously should be.

Like she had the vague memory of having parents and . . . brothers, but she couldn't remember any names or even faces.

She also had a vague recollection of school, a strange school, held in a great big ancient castle but she didn't know if she was going to school, had completed school or what.

Then a old ramshackle building flashed through her mind, but she couldn't place it at all. It hardly looked like it was habitable but there was a feeling of such warmth associated with it.

Bits and pieces of memories where flashing by so quickly that she could hardly tell what most of them were, let alone make any sense of them.

A cruel dark haired teenager boy, laughing darkly. A feeling of flying through the air, on a broom of all things. A soft kiss that held such emotion. Those and at least a thousand more, none of which made any sense. And then finally of something coming down on top of her and then there was blackness, a nothingness that filled her with terror.

She screamed and suddenly someone's strong arms were wrapped around her and she felt a sense of safety, of being secure in the knowledge that nothing would hurt her as long as those arms held her.

Harry held the trembling Ginny tight against his chest while she sobbed lowly.

"Shhh, everything will be okay," he whispered reassuringly. The thing was he didn't know if he believed it himself.

Ginny felt herself relaxing some. While she didn't remember the young man who held her, it seemed her body did. There was something comforting about his scent and the way his arms felt so good as they held her close, giving her comfort.

It was all so confusing and she wondered if she had gone mad.

Andromeda slid closer to her, resting a comforting hand on her arm. "Ginny?" she asked quietly, he voice filled with great concern.

" _Ginny?"_ she asked herself. " _Ginny,"_ she repeated to herself, trying the name on for size. Somehow the name seemed to fit and she knew it was her name or if it wasn't, it was as good as any.

"Yes?" she asked softly, her voice quavering with uncertainty.

"How are you feeling, dear," the older witch asked with concern.

Ginny sighed as she tried to assess how she was actually feeling. "Okay, I guess. I just feel so confused," she said shyly. As she calmed she concentrated more on how she was feeling physically. "I feel tired, like I've been sick and bedridden for quite some time," she added, trying to describe her lethargy as best she could.

Then she blushed, "I'm sorry about . . . you know, before. I had all these chaotic thoughts and images flash through my mind and it overwhelmed me," she said softly.

She glanced down at her body and shook her head. "I feel strange too. Like I'm younger than my body appears to be."

"It's fine, Ginny. I know things must be very confusing for you right now but the answers will have to wait until we get some place safer," Andromeda said warmly, hoping to put Ginny at ease.

"Okay," Ginny replied, snuggling deeper into Harry's side, enjoying the feeling of security that he provided, even if she didn't understand why.

"We'll be getting to Ipswich soon," Moody growled. "If they're going to make a move it will probably be there. How do you want to play it?" he asked, glancing from Harry to Minerva.

"As soon as the train stops, everyone head for the public loo's. We'll Apparate from there," she said firmly, glancing at everyone to make sure that they had heard.

"I thought we didn't want to give away any of our abilities," Moody grumbled.

"It can't be helped. If we don't get away, I'm afraid they'll take us all into custody and we can't allow that. The main thing is to do it where we can't be seen," Minerva retorted reluctantly.

"Just checking," Moody replied with a shrug. He glanced at Harry who looked torn, like he wanted to confront those who had take Ginny and caused her to wipe her mind but he also was glancing at the beautiful redhead he was holding and wanted nothing more than get her to safety.

A couple of moments later the squeal of the brakes was heard and they all stood, ready to head for the loo's as quickly as possible.

Ginny clung to Harry, not wanting to be separated from him.

As soon as the train came to a halt, they were in motion. Moody, Harry and Sturgis spotted several people following their every move closely but for the moment they didn't come closer.

Everything seemed to be going well until they reached the loo's.

Ginny gave a panicked look, not wanting to let go of Harry.

Minerva gently took her arm. "Don't worry, you'll be seeing him in a couple of moments," she reassured the distraught young woman.

Harry smiled at her reassuringly. "It will be okay, I promise," he whispered.

Ginny nodded shakily and reluctantly let go of Harry, her eyes never leaving his until the door to the loo closed between them.

Ginny glanced around in confusion, she swore that the other two women had entered the room before them but they weren't anywhere to be seen.

"Hold on tight. This is going to feel strange but it's the only way," Minerva said with a reassuring smile.

Ginny kept a firm grip on Minerva's arm and the suddenly everything went black and she felt the oddest sensation. By the time she had started to gasp, she suddenly found herself some place else and she thought she was going to vomit.

"Just stand still for a moment and you'll feel better," Minerva reassured her, holding her tightly to steady her.

Ginny did as suggested and in a moment her head felt better and the urge to vomit disappeared so she chanced a look around. She found herself standing in a parlour of a very old, somewhat dilapidated, rather gloomy house. As she breathed in, she swore she had smelled the distinctive order of the place before but she didn't recognize anything.

Harry watched Ginny disappear and it took Moody growling at him "Let's go," to make him move.

He followed the old ex-Auror into the men's loo and they both immediately Apparated away.

Their followers stood waiting outside the corridor that led to the loos until one of them began to get worried. He sent a man and a women team members forward and was shocked when both came back shrugging their shoulders. Their quarry had disappeared somehow.

He had read the reports of other teams who claimed that the ones they were following had disappeared but had always written it off as shoddy technique but now he knew there was something else going on.

They slowly made their way back the way the had come. The leader stopped and talked lowly to an older grey-haired man. The man just nodded and waited till the others had left before he smiled and nodded his head before he too disappeared into the crowd.

Ginny was just starting to feel better when Harry and Moody appeared right next to her and Minerva.

Unable to stop herself, she threw herself at Harry, grabbing him tightly and shivered. It took a moment before she could calm herself down, but now that he was there, she felt that things would be all right. The thing she found astounding was she didn't even know his name.

"I'll go make some tea," Andromeda said with a small smile before she headed off.

"Why don't we all sit down," Minerva suggested, looking at Ginny, trying to get an assessment on how she was doing.

Augusta, Moody and Sturgis took their leave, telling Minerva that they'd be in contact with her later and giving a wave to Harry.

Harry led Ginny over to one of the couches and sat down with her. She clung to him tightly, not wanting to let go.

She glanced at him shyly. "I'm sorry but I can't seem to remember your name," she said softly, looking embarrassed to reveal that fact.

Harry smiled at her sadly. "I'm Harry," he said softly.

He saw her looking at him with sad eyes. "I'm sorry, I don't remember you though I feel I ought to," she said, tears starting to form and threatening to fall.

"It's okay," Harry reassured her, giving her a comforting squeeze.

"No it's not, but it's nice of you to say so," Ginny replied, giving him a wan watery smile.

Before Harry or Minerva could say anything, Andromeda returned bearing a tray with a large teapot, several cups and a plate of biscuits.

She served everyone before taking a seat next to Minerva. "How are things going?" she asked, glancing between the others.

"We've barely gotten started," Minerva replied.

Andromeda nodded and looked at Ginny, taking note of the state she was in. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions and we'll answer them to the best of our abilities," she said kindly.

"First off, I'm Andromeda Tonks and you can call me Andromeda, or Andi, if you like" she said with a smirk. "You used to do that and I'll let you in on a secret, you're the only one that I let do so," she said with a warm smile.

Ginny gave her a small smile, "I think I'll call you Andi, if you don't mind. It just feels right," she replied unsurely.

"That's fine, like I said," she replied warmly. Then she glanced at Harry, her eyes narrowing. "Don't get any ideas," she said lowly.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Harry replied, though he had a smirk on his face.

Ginny looked around unsurely. "Can someone please explain what happened to me?" she asked softly, her eyes pleading for an explanation.

They could see her fighting her emotions as she blinked her eyes rapidly for a moment before she lost her battle and tears began to fall.

"I know you said my name is Ginny and that seemed right somehow but I don't even remember my last name," she sobbed.

Harry wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly, his own eyes misting as he felt his heart breaking for her. He could only imagine what she must be feeling and he silently reaffirmed his vow to do whatever it took to help her.

Harry, Andromeda and Minerva glanced at one another. Minerva sighed and gazed at Ginny.

"Your name is Ginevra Molly Weasley, known to your friends as Ginny. You're physically nineteen years of age and until recently were acting as an intelligence and security agent for the group known as the Order of the Phoenix," she stated softly.

Ginny gave them a watery smile, her bottom lip quivering and nodded at Minerva, letting her know that it was okay to continue.

Minerva then launched into an explanation of what was going on in the Wizarding world, about Voldemort, their resistance and Ginny's involvement.

Ginny listened without interrupting, a million questions forming as she took it all in. While interesting and it helped her tie a few things together, it didn't explain what had happened to her.

When Minerva paused to take a sip of her tea, she asked, "But how did I end up like I am? I mean why is my memory so full of holes?"

Harry and Minerva shared a sad look.

It was Harry who answered her. "You were betrayed by someone we thought was our friend. Those who took you want to learn about our world very badly. In an effort to make you talk they placed you in a Sensory Deprivation Tank," he explained sadly.

Ginny shuddered in revulsion, though she wasn't one hundred percent sure what a Sensory Deprivation Tank entailed completely, just the image it gave her horrified her.

Harry gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Because of your role in our group you were taught a special spell that in effect wiped your mind clean to protect the rest of us," he said, a couple of tears beginning to leak out of the corners of his eyes.

Ginny looked at him bewilderedly and then glanced at Minerva, "But?" she asked looking back and forth at them in confusion.

"We used an ancient ritual to restore a personality in your brain. Because Harry knew you so well, he was able to integrate some of your former self into your new self, but the damage is so complete that there is no way to return you to your former self," Minerva replied sadly.

Ginny nodded slowly, staring at the ground for a few moments. She looked up, her eyes searching between Harry, Andromeda and Minerva, a troubled look on her face.

"What's to become of me?" she asked with a small unsure voice.

Before any of them could reply, the silence was broken the the shrill cry of "Where is she? Where's my baby girl?" as Molly Weasley came storming into the room.

She was followed closely by Emmeline, looking worried, apologetic and even a little afraid.

Molly paused, her eyes scanning the room and once they fastened on Ginny she came running at her.

Ginny recoiled in terror, her eyes wide and she clung to Harry desperately, trying to get him between her and the mad woman charging at her.

Harry wrapped his arms around her protectively and glared at the Weasley matriarch.

Molly pulled up short, shocked by Ginny's reaction. "Ginny baby, it's me, your mum," she said softly, her voice quavering.

Ginny just stared at her looking upset and afraid and she clung tighter to Harry.

Harry sighed looking at her sadly before turning his attention to Molly, his look darkening as he glared at her. She had raise quite a fuss when after he and Ginny became engaged and Ginny moved out of the Burrow and in with him.

Things had been rather contentious ever since with Ginny rarely speaking to her mother at all.

Emmeline looked at Minerva apologetically.

Minerva nodded her head. While she knew that sooner or later Molly would have found out about Ginny's return, she really wished it had been later.

She sighed and looked at Harry. "Harry, why don't you take Miss Weasley down to the kitchen and have some lunch while I have a discussion with Mrs Weasley," she said, assuming her more strict persona of the Headmistress of Hogwarts.

Molly looked like she was going to protest but Minerva quieted her with a stern look.

Harry and Ginny stood, with Ginny remaining on the side away from her mother. She eyed her with a look that was at once, both fearful and apologetic.

As soon as they were in the hall and away from Molly, Ginny relaxed a little but still hung on to Harry's arm.

The young couple followed Andromeda and Emmeline down into the kitchen.

Once there Emmeline motioned for them to sit down at the table while she began to make some sandwiches.

"Sorry about that. Sturgis and I were discussing Ginny and Molly flooed over and heard what we were talking about" she said softly over her shoulder, shaking her head.

Ginny looked back and forth between Harry and Andromeda. "Is she really my mum?" she asked hesitantly.

"Um, yeah," Harry replied, though it seemed he was reluctant to admit it.

"She's a bit . . . intense, isn't she?" Ginny asked impishly a small smile breaking out on her face.

Harry smiled at her. Even if she wasn't really Ginny any more, she still seemed to have her playful spirit, something that had drawn him to her in the first place.

Andromeda also smiled. "That's one word for it," she said humorously.

Ginny then turned to Harry, looking at him intensely. "So, engaged, huh?" she said softly, her face unreadable.

Harry was taken totally by surprise. Though he tried not to show it, a brief look of pain flashed across his face. "We were," he answered quietly, his voice laden with the anguish he was feeling.

Ginny cocked her head, and look at him enigmatically. "So you don't want to be engaged any more?" she asked cryptically.

Harry looked at her in confusion. "But you said you don't even know me any more," he whispered, staring into her eyes.

Ginny gave him a small smile. "But I'd like to," she replied shyly.

Harry gave her a weak but hopeful smile. "How about we spend some time together and see how things go," he said softly.

"I'd like that," Ginny replied with a much warmer smile.

Andromeda was watching Ginny closely and she wondered just how much Harry had been able to accomplish. While certainly not the Ginny she knew from before, there seemed to be more of her underlying personality than she had been led to believe. She briefly thought about how little was truly known about how memory worked and if there wasn't more to it than suspected.

Emmeline came over with the platter of sandwiches, crisps, plates, cups and a flagon of pumpkin juice.

They watched as Ginny quickly grabbed the first sandwich and tucked in with child-like gusto.

When she saw the other three take their sandwiches more sedately, she blushed. "Sorry," she said sheepishly. "For some reason I felt I needed to grab a sandwich quickly."

Harry chuckled. "That's because you grew up with six brothers and you're the youngest," he said with a smile.

"Six brothers? Oh Merlin," Ginny giggled, giving Harry a shy look.

Harry smiled at her but she could see a tinge of sadness in his eyes and she wondered why.

Harry couldn't help but think about the deaths of her twin brothers, Fred and George who died defending the innocent during a Death Eater attack on Diagon Alley. He decided that was a topic left for another day.

Andromeda interrupted his train of though by speaking to Ginny.

"I was wondering if I could ask you a question about something you said?" she asked inquisitively.

Ginny gave a small shrug. "Sure," she replied, wondering what Andi wanted to know.

"You said you didn't feel as old as your body seemed. Just how old do you feel?" she asked.

Ginny looked at her thoughtfully and sighed. "Actually that's one of the things I'm having a hard time pinning down. Sometimes I feel pretty young, like eight or nine and then at other times I feel like a teenager, anything from thirteen to sixteen, or occasionally even older" she replied looking rather frustrated.

Andromeda gave her a sympathetic smile. "I know that must be hard for you but eventually it should meld and integrate so that feeling should go away," she explained.

Ginny nodded but she looked unsure about it all. She hoped so because the feeling of disorientation it gave her was a bit much to take.

She glanced at Andromeda hesitantly, looking like she wanted to ask a question of her own but then talked herself out of it.

Andromeda noticed and asked "Is there something you wanted to know?"

Ginny blushed and dropped her gaze. "Well, you mentioned performing a ritual to, I don't know, stitch my mind or memories, or whatever back together, right?" she asked softly.

When Andromeda nodded, Ginny continued. "Well, couldn't you do it again, like pick up where you left off?" she added hopefully.

Andromeda gave her a sad smile. "Unfortunately not. The texts are most adamant about that. It is proscribed and they hint at all sorts of dire consequences though nothing specific is given."

"Oh," Ginny replied appearing crestfallen.

Harry gave her leg a small soft squeeze, trying to reassure her.

Ginny was slightly confused by Harry's reaction. He was sitting to her right and holding her right hand in his left, and while he gave her hand a very light squeeze, he had reached across his body with his right hand in his lap to squeeze her leg harder than he had her hand and she wondered if he was trying to tell her something secretly.

She glanced at him, giving him a quick questioning look and she saw him give an almost imperceptible nod of his head.

She glanced quickly at Andi to see if she had noticed and when it was apparent that she or Emmeline didn't have the foggiest, she decided to explore Harry's signal further, when there weren't so may others around.

" _Besides,"_ she thought happily, _"I want to spend more time with him anyway."_

It was a short time later when McGonagall and Molly came down stairs, with neither looking particularly happy.

They stopped near the floo and Molly looked at Ginny imploringly. "Please come home where I can take care of you," she cried, all but insisting.

Ginny looked at her and then at Harry. While the woman appeared sincere, she didn't know anything about her and there was this draw, some kind of connection she felt with the young man sitting next to her that she wanted to find out about.

With a sigh, she said "I'm sorry but I'm going to remain here for now. I feel it's where I need to be."

When Molly looked like she was going to protest, Minerva cut her off. "You heard her, she wants to remain here."

Molly looked outraged but didn't say anything, She just spun around, grabbed some floo powder and was gone in a flash of green flames.

Minerva looked at everyone with a sad sigh. "Somehow I don't think we've heard the last from her," she remarked.

Ginny sat there for a moment, contemplating her many questions. They had indicated she was a witch and though she could feel 'something' inside her, she had no way of accessing whatever it was.

Minerva sat down and poured herself a cup of tea and glanced at Ginny. She could see her eyes darting around but not looking at anything, obviously in deep thought.

She cleared her throat to gain Ginny's attention. When she looked at her she smiled. "I know you must be feeling a bit overwhelmed and have a lot of questions," she stated sympathetically. "However I think it's best of you just take some time to relax the remainder of the day and we can talk again tomorrow."

Ginny slowly nodded her head, agreeing that what Minerva was saying sounded like a good idea and maybe she'd be able to talk to Harry alone.

"That sounds good," she replied with a smile. "I'd really like to take a shower and get myself settled," she added, glancing at everyone.

Everyone smiled but she noticed Harry's was the warmest of all of them. "Come on, I'll show you where the shower is," he remarked warmly as he rose.

As they headed for the stairs, Minerva and Andromeda shared a look.

"She certainly seems quite taken with Harry," Minerva observed.

Andromeda nodded thoughtfully. "So little is known about what she's gone through," she sighed. "I wish I knew more so I could help her better but I just don't know what to do."

Minerva nodded sympathetically. "I know exactly how you feel," she sighed.

Harry led Ginny to the topmost floor and into Sirius' old bedroom. He had moved in there when he came to live at Grimmauld Place and Ginny had joined him shortly after she left the Burrow.

As Harry went to the wardrobe to get her a change of clothes, Ginny flopped down on the bed, laying on her side, propped up on one elbow.

She found herself smiling. While she didn't remember anything, once again her body seemed to. Laying there just felt right and it was almost as if the bed was welcoming her back.

On top of that, she smelled Harry's musky aroma, being at once unfamiliar but familiar none the less and she felt her body responding to it.

She sighed softly, realizing she had a dilemma on her hands and it would take careful thinking to sort it all out. She knew by him coming up to his room to get her a change of clothing meant one thing, they were intimate, or had been.

Though she had no memories of that, it meant a lot to her that they had been that close and hopefully in love.

Seeing the pain in Harry's eyes told her that he wasn't one to play with a girls affections. No, he was a one woman man and he loved her, or her past self.

Just thinking about that facet gave her a headache and she sighed in frustration.

Looking up she saw Harry standing there with a change of clothing in his hands. Ginny noticed it included a set of lingerie, a matching set of bra and knickers in a soft green colour.

She blushed softly as she rose and accepted the clothing. The fact he was comfortable enough to hand her intimate wear reinforced her idea that they had been lovers.

She giggled lightly when she noticed he was blushing too, something that endeared him all the more to her.

Harry showed her to the en suite bathroom and as he turned to leave she felt herself begin to panic. "Please stay close," she pleaded softly, her eyes locking on his.

"I'll be right out here," he told her with a small reassuring smile, gesturing at the bedroom.

"Thank you," she replied sincerely. As Harry left she closed the door but left it partway open.

As she began to disrobe she called out "Can you tell me about yourself?"

She giggled lowly when she heard his small gasp.

There was a slight pause and then he began to tell her about his life. She felt herself relax, loving the sound of his voice. She found herself smiling as she listened. It was obvious to her that he didn't like talking about himself, there was a shyness and reluctance in the tone of his voice that touched her and endeared him all that much more to her.

As she stepped into the shower she checked the toiletries and she smiled as she smelled the one shampoo. It smelled like her, or at least it smelled right to her.

Washing her hair brought back a flash of a memory of someone washing her hair for her and thought she couldn't remember who it was, somehow she knew it had to have been Harry.

As she washed herself she felt her body yearning for another's touch and though she had no memories, she was sure it had been Harry's hands that had cleaned her body.

Sighing in frustration she rinsed off, shut off the water and as she stepped out of the shower she found herself automatically reaching into the linen closet to pull out a clean towel. Once again marvelling at how her body seemed to 'remember' more than she did.

She slipped on her knickers and then paused to look at herself in the mirror. The face staring back at her once more seeming familiar and yet unfamiliar and she wondered just who she really was.

With a sigh, she finished getting dressed. Since the clothing was a tee and a pair of lounge pants, she decided to forgo the bra, figuring they weren't going to go anywhere.

She re-entered the bedroom and found Harry sitting on the edge of the bed and she could see how sad he was, a pained expression clouding his features.

She tossed the bra onto the dresser, smiling when she saw his surprised look. She padded her way over and sat down next to him.

She turned her head and found him looking at her, his eyes filled with so many emotions. The sadness and pain she recognized immediately but there were so many more.

There was an uncertainty, a hesitancy, along with hope and she felt her stomach clench when she saw his desire but what struck her the most was the underlying love she found in his gaze.

By its own volition, she found her hand reaching up and caressing his cheek. She saw his look of surprise and then he leaned into her soft, gentle touch, tears coming to his eyes.

Ginny was only slightly surprised when she felt her own desire rising inside of her and while she didn't remember, her body certainly did and she leaned in and kissed him, softly at first and then with growing passion.

Harry began to respond, kissing her just as passionately before he suddenly stopped, pulling back and staring at her uncertainly.

Ginny smiled reassuringly, silently pleading with her eyes.

She saw him study her eyes intently before he gave her a pained, heart-wrenching look.

"I'm sorry, I just can't. I feel like I'd be taking advantage of you," he whispered emotionally.

Ginny nodded sadly, though she didn't really understand fully, she knew that she couldn't force the issue, at least not at the moment.

"I'm sorry," she whispered softly as her eyes began to mist as she dropped her gaze, unable to look him in the eyes.

Harry gently lifted her head by placing a finger under her chin. "I'm the one who's sorry," he choked emotionally.

Ginny could see just how much he was hurting and she wished that she could take that away from him, though she didn't know how.

She hoped fervently that she hadn't bolloxed everything up, she shifted away from his body a little when she felt how tense he was.

She desperately thought of how she could salvage the situation as she didn't want for him to tell her to leave and she certainly didn't want to cause him any more stress or pain.

Only one thing came to mind and she realized it could make things better or equally make things worse, but she decided it was worth the risk.

"Could you tell me about, . . . us, or you and her or . . . Damn, I don't know how to refer to her, me or whatever," she muttered softly in frustration.

She was surprised when she heard him chuckle softly and she looked up at him.

His eyes were sparkling with amusement and he had a small smile on his face though he still had a sad air about him.

He glanced up over her head for a moment while he put his thoughts in order and when he looked back into her eyes, his smile was a little brighter.

"I guess to avoid confusion and make things easier, I'll just have to admit and get used to the idea that you are the Ginny I knew but just changed. It's really no different than if you were in some sort of accident and received a head injury. You are her, just different," he explained hesitantly. "I hope I explained that well enough," he added sheepishly, giving her an imploringly look.

Ginny smiled softly. "I think that's a good idea and I can accept that," she replied reassuringly.

Harry began to recount everything he could of their interactions, starting with meeting each other when she and her family had helped him get through the barrier at King's Cross Station his first year.

She smiled when he told her of her reaction to finding him in the Burrow's kitchen after Ron and the Twins had rescued him from his relatives and the incident with the butter dish.

He began to skim over her first year but when she didn't react poorly and she urged him to tell her everything, he launched into a detailed account of the Diary and his saving her life in the Chamber of Secrets.

From there he told her everything they had shared while at Hogwarts, both the good and the bad.

Ginny smiled as he relaxed and continued to tell her about everything. Though almost everything was "new" to her, there were a few times when she got flashes of memories or more often feelings and that reassured her.

The only interruption was when Winky appeared and announced dinner was ready and she was surprised when Harry asked her to bring theirs up to them.

She was further surprised when the diminutive elf had just smiled before popping away only to return a few moments later with their dinners.

They continued to talk while they ate, or more precisely, Harry continued telling her about their life together, though she was sure he skimmed over what was obviously the more intimate parts.

Dinner was long over by the time he wound down, ending with him telling about their rescue of her.

They sat there in silence for a couple of moments and Ginny saw Harry looking contemplative, a sad smile on his face.

It wasn't until she yawned widely that he shook himself out of his reminiscing. He glanced at the clock, surprised at how late it was.

"I had Winky prepare the room across the hall for you," he stated softly, almost reluctantly.

Ginny gave him a small smile, while she would have preferred to remain with him, she understood and let him lead her across the hall.

"I'm just across the hall if you need anything or you can call for Winky," he explained. "We'll move your things tomorrow," he added with a sad look.

"Thank you," she whispered, "For everything."

Harry nodded and then in a move that surprised her, he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly, kissing her on the side of her head.

"Sleep well," he whispered before he released her. He waited until she had entered the room and closed the door before he slowly made his way back into his own room, feeling like he was the world's biggest prat.

With a sigh, he stripped down to his boxers and crawled into bed. It took quite a while before he fell into a fitful sleep.

Ginny lay in bed, exhausted but unable to fall asleep, her thoughts filled with what Harry had told her about her and their life together.

She found herself yearning for that life and she felt tears forming in her eyes. Yawning once more, she glanced at the light next to the bed.

" _You're safe. You're not there any more,"_ she chided herself. With a shaky hand she reached up and turned the light off.

Instantly she was enveloped by the darkness and she felt herself beginning to panic. She tried to fight the feeling but realized it was hopeless. Throwing off the duvet, she all but ran to the door and ripped it open.

Fortunately the hall was dimly lit and she paused, glancing back at her bed. She realized it was more than just the dark that had made her panic. It was also the loneliness, the feeling of isolation that had affected her.

She slowly made her way over to the door to Harry's room and carefully opened the door. She slipped inside and softly shut the door behind her. While the darkness made her anxiety rise, she could hear Harry's soft breathing and though she couldn't see, her body knew the way to the bed.

She quietly padded her way across the room and unerringly reached out and found the edge of the duvet. Sighing in relief, she slipped into bed.

Her action didn't go unnoticed and she felt Harry stir. "Ginny?" he whispered sleepily.

"I'm sorry," she whimpered, fighting her tears. "I-it w-was s-so dark and . . . and I . . I . . . was so alone,"

"Shh," Harry whispered, wrapping his arms around her. "It's okay, you don't need to explain anything."

Ginny lay there trembling. Even with Harry's arms around her, the darkness was oppressive.

"C-could you turn on a l-light?" she begged, fighting her panic.

She felt Harry shift and a small light on the dresser sprang to life, giving off a soft glow, casting just enough light to banish the darkness.

"T-thank you," she sobbed.

Harry instinctively pulled her closer. "It's okay, you're safe and I'm not going to let anything happen to you," he whispered hoping to reassure her.

Ginny spun in his arms and buried her face in his shoulder and the tears she had been fighting began to fall in earnest.

Harry just held her, rubbing her back and whispering reassuring things into her ear.

It took a while but eventually Ginny's tears stopped and her ragged breathing returned to normal.

Ginny couldn't believe how wonderful it felt to be held by Harry, his strong arms holding her gently. With her head still tucked into his shoulder, she inhaled deeply and was overwhelmed by his scent. It was undoubtedly masculine and she felt her body responding to it and him.

Hesitantly she reached up and caressed his cheek and looked up to find his emerald eyes staring back at her. She could see his uncertainty but she also felt his body responding to her too.

"Please, I really want this," she breathed huskily. And she did want it and more importantly she found she needed it.

Harry stared at her for the longest time and she thought he was going to pull back like he had before but then she saw something break loose inside his eyes and he leaned in and kissed her. While she didn't have any memories of them making love, her body certainly did and responded to him.

Their kisses began to become more passionate and hands started roaming. Ginny moaned lowly as she felt her body accepting him, welcoming him back.

Slowly the little clothes they had on were dispensed with and finally they were making love.

Ginny marvelled at the way she knew just where to touch him, just what to do to give him the most pleasure and how her body responded to him before she gave herself over to what she was experiencing.

She shuddered as her climax hit her and she smiled when she felt him obtain his own release. To Ginny it was the most marvellous thing in the world and she knew she never wanted to share that special joining with anyone else in the world.

Even if she didn't really remember him, she knew that she loved him, as barmy as that sounded.

As she lay there, holding him close as he lay on top of her, she was basking in the afterglow of their love making when she felt Harry shaking slightly and it took her a moment to realize he was crying silently.

"What's wrong?" she asked with great concern, wondering if he regretted making love with her.

She felt him slowly rein in his emotions until he was just breathing raggedly. "I know this is going to sound crazy," he sobbed, barely in control. "But even if you can't remember, I know you're you. Making love with you was just like we always did. I could tell it was you, the one I love so very, very much," he cried, wrapping his arms tightly around her. Holding her so tight it actually hurt a little.

Ginny rubbed his back and ran one hand through his hair until she felt him relax. "I love you too," she whispered lovingly.

Harry kissed her deeply, letting his love flow out and into her, letting her know he didn't care if she remembered her previous life or not. All that mattered to him was he had her back in his arms and she loved him as much as he loved her.

Ginny sighed contentedly and hugged Harry a bit more tightly. Yes, she may not be that other Ginny Weasley any more but she was who she was and she was with the man she loved and she truly felt she was home and in the long run, that's all that really mattered.

 **Harry and Ginny**

 **Something a little different, loosely based on part of a book called The Gameplayers of Zan by M. A. Foster. I hope you enjoyed my version of this small part of that wonderful book. The thing posed is what is memory and where does it really reside. Yes, the brain is the key but there have been times when things have happened that show that isn't the whole answer. Transplant patients who suddenly like different foods that were a favorite of the person they received their organ from and other mysteries.  
**

 **As always, I appreciate any reviews.**


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